14th.: By How You Word It (Matthew)
The prayer of one was woman was recorded in
Matt. 15: 21-28, and Mark 7:24-30.
Matthew, the writer of the book of Matthew,
and Peter (who gave the story to Mark, who wrote Mark)
Remembered the prayer a little differently.
Today, we shall look at what Matthew remembered, and recorded.
To describe the situation.
Jesus went to Israel’s northern borders. While there, he stayed in someone’s house.
A non-Jew, specifically a Syro-Phoenician woman, came to him.
She knew that Jesus could remove a devil living in her daughter.
She came to the door of the house where he stayed.
She cried him, asking for his help.
At first, he ignored her.
But she did not give up.
Her persistence irritated the disciples.
So they came to Jesus, asking him to send her away. Because the disciples came to him, Jesus answered,
“I am not sent, but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24).
Jesus directed this reply to the disciples - and also to the woman.
Because Jesus established communication with the woman,
she knew that she could come closer. She fell at his feet worshiping him, and repeated her request, “Lord help me.”
Jesus then gave her his discriminatory response, “It is not suitable to take the children’s bread, and to cast it to dogs.”
Her response is golden.
“Truth, Lord, yet the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their master’s table.” (Matt. 15: 26-27).
She was relentless. She was not going to be easily stopped.
She knew Jesus could heal her daughter. It was as if Jesus held her away at first, to determine her resolve, her faith, her love(?), for him.
Jesus replied, “O woman, great is thy faith; be it unto thee even as thou wilt.” (Matt. 15:28c). And the demon left her daughter alone.
Return to Home“… faith, which works by love.” (Gal. 5:6c)